Some eyebrows were raised when one of those minimal bright spots, kicker Justin Medlock, who had left to try out in the NFL, became available at the end of June and the Argos did not jump at the chance to sign him.
But September is upon us, and playoff hopes have changed the minds of the 5-5 Toronto team. The Boatmen added Medlock to the roster on Tuesday and signed him through the 2011 season.
In 2009, Medlock was named Toronto’s top special teams player, and was also the Canadian Football League’s special teams player of the month for August, 2009.
Last season, Medlock made 40 of 46 field goal attempts and punted 120 times for a total of 5,076 yards.
His success led him to a contract with the Washington Redskins, one he signed in February of this year. After being released on June 14, he was scooped up only one day later by the Detroit Lions.
Failed attempts at making either team left Medlock in limbo, waiting upon a possible call by another NFL club, or potentially making a decision to return to the CFL.
The Argonauts did not grab the Californian as soon as he was back on the market because they were happy with the non-import duo they were using at his position.
Rookie Grant Shaw has primarily been the kicker for the Argos up to this point in the season. He currently stands at 19-for-29 on field goal attempts, leaving him in seventh place of the primary kickers out of the eight CFL teams.
Jamie Boreham has been punting and taking care of kickoffs for the team since they have been without Medlock.
The Argonauts hope that the signing of Medlock will help them to better their .500 record, though that mark isn’t exactly indicative of how far forward they’ve moved since the last time the kicker played a regular season game for the Double Blue.
After beating the Montreal Alouettes to share the top spot with them in the East, the Boatmen have lost three straight games.
The now third-place Argos face the last place Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday, a team coming off an impressive victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
And Medlock has much to look forward to in his home debut.
“I’m excited to be back in Toronto and with the Argonauts,” Medlock said in a press release. “I can’t wait to get re-acquainted with the great Argos fans and the team, and meet the new coaches.”
